Makola walked into the building of the Shadow Group's branch with a triumphant look on his face. He had imagined the day countless times when he would replace Yepes as the leader of the Shadow Group in the capital, and completely control the sword in the shadows in his own hands.
He walked into the entrance of the Shadow Corps base. His former colleagues, who were equals to him, greeted him respectfully one after another. The flattering yet fearful looks from the low- and mid-level assassins made him feel like he was floating in the clouds.
He passed by the room that originally belonged to him, but did not go in. Instead, he went straight to the room that belonged to Yepes. From today on, this room would belong to him.
However, when he walked to the door, he found that it was half-open.
He pushed the door open and saw a very sturdy man lying on Yepes' chair with his feet on the table. Because the chair was originally for the thin Yepes, the chair creaked when the man moved slightly. The man had brown curly hair and dark skin, and looked like a mercenary who traveled all year round.
Makola's hand immediately grasped the hilt of the sword, and a vigilant look appeared on his face: "Who are you and why are you in this room?"
"Me? My name is Drew, and I'm the new head of the Royal Capital branch. Today is my first day on the job." The man put his feet down on the table, stood up and shook his clothes. He was a full head taller than Markola, and looking down at him, he felt extremely oppressive.
"What's going on!" Markola took a step back involuntarily and glanced at the door. Although he had reached an agreement with Roland, he knew very well that he was never someone the other party trusted. If such a person appeared in the Shadow Group, his life would be in danger.
Sure enough, two other warriors with stern auras appeared outside the door, blocking his retreat.
"Yes, it was Lord Roland who asked you to come?" asked Markola.
"It seems you are not stupid. In this case, just cooperate with them. This way you will at least suffer less." Drew said.
"I should have known..."
"It's too late to say anything now." Drew stretched out a hand and said, "Please?"
Makola swallowed and took off the sword from his waist with trembling hands. "I want to know what crime Roland is using."
Drew laughed. "Why do you care about this? I know that many people you have solved were confused until they died. I think this is a blessing. At least they don't have a reason to feel that they are wronged."
"I still want to know." Markola held the sword in his hand, but was reluctant to hand it to the other party.
"Okay. I think as an intelligence captain, it's a bit frustrating not knowing what I failed for." Drew shrugged and said, "The charge is simple. You provided wrong information, causing the assassin team in the capital to fall into the trap of the Temple of War and be wiped out. This charge can't be considered an injustice to you, right?"
"Lord Roland really leads with one thing after another. Very well, I..." Halfway through the sentence, Markola suddenly threw out two smoke balls, and thick smoke instantly filled the entire room.
There was a brief fight and shouting in the room. After everything fell silent, Drew pushed the door open and walked out of the room. He wiped the blood off the sword with a piece of cloth and muttered to himself, "These guys who deal in intelligence have the same problem. They are soft-hearted but hard-mouthed. It's such a waste of time to keep complaining."
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A few days later, in the same tavern, Xiao Chen sat with Roland again.
"Sir Xiao Chen, congratulations on getting out of trouble." Roland raised his glass and bumped it against Xiao Chen's. The Mocha wine splashed out and spilled on the table, but the priest didn't care.
"I should also congratulate you, Your Excellency the High Priest. As we say, this is a win-win situation." Xiao Chen said after taking a sip of wine.
"Win-win?" Roland shook his head and said, "I don't think we won. At most, we have taken a few steps forward on the way to our destination, but we paid a huge price."
"You mean the losses of the Shadow Group?"
"Of course." Roland smashed the cup on the table. "I have never been a spendthrift. It is my nature to be thrifty. This time, in order to achieve a further goal, many people died inexplicably. What a pity."
"I didn't expect you to be such a compassionate person." Xiao Chen said with a smile, "I thought a big shot like you would be able to change the situation calmly and see all gains and losses as the addition and subtraction of numbers."
"I don't know where you got this idea from. It seems that big shots should be cold and ruthless." Roland raised a finger and shook it. "Remember, as long as your opponent is a human, people like you and me with eyes and noses cannot have no reaction to the death of our kind. If that were the case, we would no longer be human. How can we understand the human heart if we are not human? People who don't understand the human heart are just lonely stones. No matter how strong they are or how high their realm is, they are just a very hard stone. Even if there really is such a person, there is no need to worry. He will definitely destroy himself in loneliness."
"What you said is new to me." Xiao Chen touched his nose and thought about what the other person said.
"It's nothing new. Like me, Artur, Yepes, and even you, our every move will affect the fate of many people. The reason why we can make the choice of life and death for others is often because we have no choice. And the trace of sympathy in our hearts will be temporarily sealed after it is used up, so that we can remain rational in battle."
"But now the battle is over."
"Yes. So don't forget to take some time to be a normal person and let your compassion out for a while."
Roland filled their glasses again and clinked them together. "Okay, after this glass, I'm going to be that rational old man again after I walk out of this door."
Xiao Chen picked up the cup, drank it all in one gulp, and couldn't help laughing.
"As partners, we still have a long way to go. So there is one thing I am curious about." Roland put down his empty cup, "What do you think of Prince Javier?"
"Javier?"
Roland said, "There are many eyes in the capital, and each pair of eyes is distinguishing who is a friend, who is an enemy, and who is an enemy who looks like a friend. You are close to the prince, so it will naturally attract a lot of attention. What kind of person do you think he is?"
"So far, he's a good kid."
"It's a good choice for you to think of him as a good kid. From our perspective, we should focus our attention on higher places." Roland leaned back in his chair, pointed at the ceiling and smiled.